Electric

First Death Related to Tesla's Autopilot System

by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin
Tesla Model S
Photo: Jeremy Alan Glover

On May 7, Joshua D. Brown died when his Tesla Model S collided with a tractor-trailer. The manufacturer declared today that when the accident occurred, the Autopilot system was activated.

This is the first time this semi-autonomous driving aid is directly associated with a deadly crash.

Here’s how it supposedly went down: the electric car was driving down a U.S. highway. Further up, a semi-trailer truck initiated a left turn; neither the Autopilot’s sensors nor the driver applied the brakes, and the Tesla collided with the side of the trailer. The sedan then went under the trailer's middle section, ripping off the car’s roof, continued for a while and finally came to a rest in a field.

Tesla and the NHTSA opened an investigation to learn more about what happened.

There are some questions that arise from this crash: first of all, just how wide is the Tesla's ''field of view''? Since the trailer was long and elevated, it is possible that there was an empty space right in front of the car (although reports suggest that the trailer was white and couldn't be distinguished from the sky by the computer). I am also curious as to why the driver didn't slam on the brakes; is it possible he put too much faith in the system and wasn't paying attention to the road?

UPDATE: According to the truck driver, who was the first to assist the driver of the Tesla on the crash scene, a movie was playing in the car. Furthermore, police report states that a portable DVD player was found among the debris.

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